Picture this: it’s 1988, Dale Earnhardt Sr. is dominating the sport having won the last two titles and NASCAR is heading ‘down under’ to race in Australia’s Calder Park Thunderdome. The Thunderdome was a monument of love for racing and ambition. It was Bob Janet’s dream to bring American Stock Car racing to Australian hearts. This wasn’t just a race, it was an exchange of cultures, a glimpse of American racing for Australian folks, and a chance for NASCAR to build a foothold in Land Down Under.

It was the 80s, a time different than today, we’re talking about a time when racing was intense, the budget was tight and bending the rules was just another name for getting things done. Remember when HAAS F1 recently had their employee take the car parts into their luggage to save on the logistics cost, well, what we have today for you will make HAAS’s cost-cutting look like a trivial thing, and do something that’s going to be talked about still till this day, nearly 4 decades after it happened.

It happened when a small team, led by the unforgettable St. James Davis and his wife/crew chief, was gearing up to leave for Australia to race in NASCAR’s inaugural race at the Calder Park Thunderdome in 1988. In an effort to get across the Pacific with whatever they had in their pockets, they decided to cut some corners and utilise some, let’s just say, cost-cutting methods.

When Free Shipping Goes Wrong: A NASCAR Saga

The Davis team, trying to save a few bucks, came up with a story straight out of a Hollywood film, and decided to skip on a plane ticket for their engine builder, Mitch Klon. Instead, they packed him up with the car in the shipping container and bid him goodbye as he went on a 3-week journey across the ocean in a shipping container. Yes, a human being cramped inside a metal box with a NASCAR stock car covering more than 8000 miles.

“The lure of racing in a strange and faraway land has a strong pull on some people,” Chris Economaki, the legend himself, was shocked when he covered the incident. “This car was in the ship that sailed from Los Angeles, was on the water for three weeks, and in it was an unwitting stowaway, the engine builder.”

Klon was given a sleeping bag, a pillow, and some groceries, “There was a bag of groceries, which was two cans of Spam, a can of tuna, two boxes of dry cereal, three bags of candy, two boxes of Twinkies, a box of cookies, and that was about it,” Klon stated as he recalled the terrible ordeal he went through.

“It was about three days before I went outside, and I just got tired of being down there. So I just went up and decided to get some fresh air,” Klon said when asked about his ‘journey’ inside the container.

But this wasn’t the end of his struggle, as he emerged from the dark confinements of a shipping container, cramped and probably claustrophobic, he was arrested and turned over to the authorities, because as it turns out, shipping humans along with a car in a shipping container, is very illegal.

“He was turned over to Australian immigration authorities, de-loused, they say, quarantined for two days, and then released in the custody of Calder Thunderdome owner Bob Jane,” Economaki continued. Klon was then made to earn his return fare by doing menial labour for the authorities.

While NASCAR teams, especially ones from back in the day, are known to bend the rules to squeeze the most out of the situation, this wasn’t an isolated incident.

Rowdy Busch had his fair share of trouble with the Mexican authorities

Over the years, many teams and drivers have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, some taking calculated risks like St. James Davis sending his crew member in a shipping container or sometimes due to ignorance.

One recent example of a driver finding himself in hot water was in 2023 when Kyle Busch was arrested in Mexico when a handgun and ammunition were discovered in his luggage. Busch claimed ignorance and apologized, stating that we was unaware of the local laws.

“Discovery of the handgun led to my detainment while the situation was resolved. I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico,” Busch said in his social media statement. “When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina. I apologize for my mistake and appreciate the respect shown by all parties as we resolved the matter. My family and I consider this issue closed.”

Given that NASCAR is heading back to Mexico there were concerns about whether or not Rowdy would be allowed to race in Chilangos. But, the RCR star shut down the rumors confirming his return to Mexico City via social media. “Excited to race for another win in Mexico in 2025!”

These incidents from stowaways in a shipping container to international arrests, remind us that the world of motorsports is not just limited to the track. It is a world of human errors and cultural differences. And sometimes the pursuit of victory can have unexpected and even illegal consequences.